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Post by katewh88 on Jun 25, 2015 6:59:16 GMT -8
My gerbil Reuben has a small cut in his ear, I'm not sure if he did it, or his brother. It seemed to be healing but now it's back to how it was. Is there anything I can do for him? His brother passed away on Sunday so I know it's only him making it worse. Also so can I be a good substitute for a new playmate as the poor boy looks abit sad atm, will he adjust to being alone? [img src=" i59.tinypic.com/n6qt6c.jpg" src="http://tinypic.com/r/n6qt6c/8" style="max-width:100%;" alt=""]
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Post by johanne on Jun 25, 2015 23:22:46 GMT -8
As a rule gerbils recover very quickly from just about everything. If he's bothering his sore it's probably painful or itchy. I would wait a bit longer to see if it heals. He might like a sand bath with high sides left in his tank in case he finds it soothing. Putting something on the ear would be tricky, especially if he's not very tame. We spray on a product called Vetericyn on all injuries. It's easy to spray on, completely safe if consumed, and kills any nasties on broken skin. You might need to do some checking around to find it though.
It's normal to be sad when a partner dies. If he's very young he really should get a new playmate. But wait a bit and see how he adjusts or doesn't adjust. It might be best to wait until the ear heals anyway.
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Post by katewh88 on Jun 26, 2015 3:33:18 GMT -8
He is just over 2, so I don't think a cage mate is a good idea, as long as he's happy with me. He looks like he's made it worse today, so I'll see what I can do with him. He's very tame which is good. Thanks for your suggestions.
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Post by betty on Jun 26, 2015 8:39:45 GMT -8
I have been pairing up gerbils over 2 years old for some time now and all but one has taken lovingly to their new tank mate.
It depends on how confident you are with the whole process as they might only be in the split for a week or so before getting used to cuddles again...
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Post by johanne on Jun 26, 2015 20:49:25 GMT -8
You really have to use your own judgement on the cage mate issue. With males over 2 years we don't usually do new introductions because the stress of the introduction may be greater than the benefit from having company. It's a very individual thing though.
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Post by betty on Jun 27, 2015 6:15:15 GMT -8
Yeah, I forgot to clarify that I only introduce oldies into mixed sex pairs. They seem to settle together much easier as boy/girl as I presume the dominance thing is much more easily settled than with two of the same sex.
And as most of my gerbils live to over 3 years, I keep going with the Intros all the while they are in good health. If the split hasn't worked after 2 weeks (like this last one) I stop. I don't want to try too hard to match them up - but as I said all but 1 hasn't worked in a fortnight - out of about 15 splits.
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